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Ron has been to orbit.

Who is Ron Garan?

Fragile Oasis founder Ron Garan, who lived and worked in space for 178 days, is a highly decorated Fighter Pilot and Test Pilot, Explorer, Entrepreneur and Humanitarian who believes that appropriately designed and targeted social enterprise can solve many of the problems facing our world. Ron is currently the Chief ...

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Why I Left NASA

It's been awhile since I've seen any sign of life. As I write this, I am somewhere between Comfort, TX and Fort Stockton on an open stretch of I-10 (I'm not at the wheel)

In some respects, I'm en route to a new chapter in my life, but for the most part I'm embarking on a continuation of the call to action I felt after my first journey to space: a call to help spread a unique perspective of our home, this place we call Earth.

A little over two years ago, I left my dream job as an astronaut, a career I worked my entire life to achieve. I left NASA for one overarching reason, to be able to share a unique perspective of our planet that I believe can have profound, positive effects on the trajectory of our global society and our world. I left NASA so I can share that perspective full time.

Everything I have done since leaving NASA was with the motive of communicating what I have come to call the Orbital Perspective. I've written the book, "The Orbital Perspective," and I am working on on the full-length feature documentary, "Orbital." I am also contributing efforts to launch various startups (including the first civilian spaceflight training academy), and teaching the on-line course "Introduction to the Orbital Perspective" at Drexel University. What all these endeavors have in common, and seek to achieve, is to communicate the transformative power of acquiring a big picture and long-term perspective of our planet. My hope has been to figuratively transport those involved to a higher vantage point where all the pieces of the puzzle come into view.

The Mediterranean and northern Africa / Credit: Ron Garan/NASA

Now for the first time since leaving NASA I will no longer be confined to just figuratively transporting people to a transformative vantage point. Thanks to my new position as Chief Pilot at World View Enterprises, I will be able to literally transport people to the edge of space where I believe many will experience a profound shift in their World View. For the first time since leaving NASA I will be able to make use of my years of experience as a test pilot and fighter pilot to help develop the test program to do something that has never been done before: fly a crewed capsule under a steerable parachute from the edge of space and land gently back at a predetermined point on the Earth.

Credit: World View

Once our test program is complete, we will begin flying others to the edge of space. In the comfort of a shirtsleeve environment with massive windows to observe our planet, World View voyagers will enjoy a five-hour transformative experience. I truly believe that the more people who are able to experience our home planet from that vantage point, the better off all of us here on the surface will be. In addition to the customers who will pave the way and jumpstart this high-altitude industry -- just as those flying with the early barnstormers paved the way for the airline industry -- we plan on partnering with humanitarian, environmental, and educational organizations to accelerate the transformative effects of the program.

South America at Sunset / Credit: Ron Garan/NASA

In addition to bringing people to the edge of space for a transformative experience, I'm also excited about the payloads and experiments we will bring to the upper atmosphere and space environment. There are large gaps in humanity's knowledge of the upper atmosphere that limit our ability to model climate and weather patterns and trends. World View's plan for an unprecedented frequency of flights will enable a comprehensive study of our planet's upper atmosphere.

The program also has profound implications for communications, internet service, energy production and a myriad of other applications normally associated with the significantly more expensive satellite industry. I am particularly looking forward to working with organizations that are striving to provide internet access to remote and impoverished communities around the world. This is a passion of mine because I believe we need to bring the 5 billion creative and problem- solving minds currently without internet access into the global conversation. Through this, I believe we will find solutions we've never dreamed of - come from places we've never heard of.

I am excited about the implications for disaster response. One of the most critical things that can be lost in a serious storm or natural disaster is communications. Worldview Balloon communication platforms can be launched in response to (or in anticipation of) a natural disaster to provide communications capabilities to first responders and those affected - saving lives in the process

Hurricane Irene at its peak Credit: Ron Garan/NASA

I am delighted to join a team that embraces the same entrepreneurial spirit that launched the aviation industry and understands that true innovation is not just doing something that already exists better, but doing something completely new that revolutionizes or creates industries.

Mark Kelly, World View Director of Flight Crew Operations, and Ron Garan, Chief Pilot, in the International Space Station Cupola during Space Shuttle Endeavour's final mission. Credit: NASA

2016 will be an exciting year for World View and the commercial spaceflight industry. I look forward to our upcoming flight tests and, in particular, our first crewed flight.

What I most look forward to is people experiencing a new perspective of our planet for the first time and, more importantly, observe what they do with that new perspective and how they change the world for the better.

Guided by the unique orbital perspective of men and women who live and work in Space, our vision is for Fragile Oasis to help people and organizations work together to overcome the challenges facing humanity on Earth.